Month: October 2017

As an OSU Extension professional, it is the time of year that we receive invitations to join or renew membership in professional organizations. I have been a member of one of those organizations, Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP) for many years. For me, getting more involved in ESP meant that I was selected to present an IGNITE session at the 2016 National ESP meeting. This year my involvement in ESP included participating in the National Meeting as the Ohio ESP President Elect and an Ohio voting delegate.

The ESP National Meeting gave me numerous opportunities to enhance my network and broaden my knowledge. The event offered tours to learn about the local economy and special areas of interest as well as educational sessions for professional development. In addition to increasing my knowledge of local development and change, meeting new colleagues with similar interests from other states was a key benefit. From West Virginia to Maryland to California, the new professionals I have met provide a new and different perspective to my work. As new colleagues, we have maintained ties through social media and have even had fun participating in football tailgating.

This year, the ESP National Meeting initiated a mentoring program as a way for seasoned professionals to giveback to the organization. Mentoring provided a means to share ideas and ask for advice. Other avenues for contributing to the profession include joining or leading a committee at the state, regional or national level. As over half of the participants at the ESP National Meeting were also serving as voting delegates for their states, giving back to the organization was clearly a priority for many of the attendees.

Whether you are looking to learn about current events and initiatives, network in a professional community or make the most of meeting new people, joining ESP is a step in accomplishing this.

Cindy Bond is an Assistant Professor and County Extension Educator in Guernsey County (Crossroads EERA).

The Lake Erie algal bloom has often been described as mean, green and obscene. To make matters worse, if you’ve ever experienced an algal bloom in person, you would also know that it stinks… literally.

What gives? What is being done about this yearly outbreak in our Great Lake Erie? The Ohio Sea Grant College Program has been and continues to be one of the key leaders in research, education and outreach on this critical issue. This blog posting will discuss key research initiatives that Ohio Sea Grant is tackling head on with local, state, university and federal partners.

Background Information

Photo credit: Toledo Blade, 2017

A harmful algal bloom (HAB) is any large increased density of algae that is capable of producing toxins. In freshwater, such as Lake Erie, those algae tend to be cyanobacteria — more commonly known as blue-green algae — which grow excessively in warm water with a high phosphorus concentration.

Phosphorus enters the water from agriculture, suburban and urban sources. The likelihood of such runoff is strongly affected by climatic factors including drought, severe weather and temperature.

Much of the harmful algal bloom research seeks to understand both how phosphorus and other elements, such as nitrogen, affect algal blooms and how runoff can be reduced without negative impacts to farming and other industries. Other projects focus on the public health impacts of toxic algal blooms, ranging from drinking water issues to food contamination.

The Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative (HABRI), created in the aftermath of the 2014 Toledo water crisis, provides near-term solutions for the full suite of issues surrounding harmful algal blooms. Guided by the technical needs of state agencies at the front lines of the HABs crisis, Ohio universities are the engines for creating new knowledge, new technologies and new approaches to give us both short-term assistance and long-term solutions.

After the Toledo water crisis in August 2014, the Ohio Department of Higher Education (then the Ohio Board of Regents) allocated $2 million to Ohio universities for research to solve the harmful algal bloom problem in Lake Erie. The funding was matched by participating universities for a total of more than $4 million.

Led by representatives from The Ohio State University and The University of Toledo, and managed by Ohio Sea Grant, the initial efforts of the Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative (HABRI) entailed 18 projects involving researchers from seven Ohio universities and partners as far away as South Dakota and Japan.

The Lake Erie algal bloom research has been broken down into four major categories (please click each link for information on funded research efforts):

The HABRI has launched a new round of agency-directed research every year since 2015, with the first round of projects completed in spring 2017. The Ohio Department of Higher Education has funded all research, with matching funds contributed by participating universities. For the 2018 cohort, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) will provide matching funds for some of the research and monitoring activities undertaken as part of the statewide effort.

The initiative also provides invaluable training for Ohio students, from undergraduate to doctoral candidates, which distinguishes university research from other scientific institutions and gives taxpayers a double return on their investment.

Input from partners such as the OEPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Lake Erie Commission ensures that projects complement state agency efforts to protect Ohio’s fresh water and that results address known management needs to ensure sustainable water for future generations.

HABRI used Ohio Sea Grant’s proposal development system to streamline project proposals, project management and public engagement, capitalizing on Sea Grant’s strong reputation among various stakeholder groups including the research community.

When trying something new we’ve not done before, it doesn’t take us long to realize that proficiency requires a dedication to practice and in most cases a good bit of patience. And, you might say that Extension professionals work in teams all the time. It is not often, however, that we work together in national conference planning.

CD professionals have been practicing teamwork and leadership skills around a singular focus since June 2014. That’s when the idea of hosting the annual conference for our professional association, the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (a.k.a. NACDEP), was first shared. After learning of our proposal’s success about 18 months later, even more opportunities to practice really kicked. For example, as a team, we have:

Participated in the past three NACDEP conferences like never before (i.e., ‘What does it take to put this on?’)

Encouraged colleagues to serve on the national NACDEP board (thank you, Nancy Bowen, treasurer; David Civittolo, president-elect; and Brian Raison, north central representative)

With Ohio JCEP’s support, a couple of weeks ago we were able to practice our teamwork and leadership skills in a face-to-face retreat at the conference venue in Cleveland. During this two-day retreat, we:

This work required our best leadership and teamwork by subcommittee chairs and co-chairs, MLW investigation leaders, and situational leaders too. Even better, we were able to team up with members of the national NACDEP board in this work as they overlapped their annual face-to-face retreat with our conference planning retreat at the 2018 NACDEP Conference venue in Cleveland.

No doubt, there has been much to learn throughout this conference planning process. And when we consciously make the time for it, there is much to learn beyond the ins and outs of how to produce a top-rate NACDEP conference. Every day we have countless opportunities to actively and deliberately practice our skills necessary for working with others. Opportunities to strengthen our skills and build proficiency. The work that lies ahead will require our best teamwork and leadership.

Regardless of the task at hand or the challenge you face, how you go about practicing your skills is up to you.

Change. In our constantly evolving society, it is impossible to escape it. We see it in constantly shifting political ideologies. We see it in our communities, schools, homes and businesses through technology advancing faster than we ever imagined. We see it within our personal relationships as we move across the lifespan and from one life phase to another. And, we hopefully see it within ourselves when we try to adopt a new habit.

But what happens when the changes are quite drastic, or even worse, could bring about unpredictable results? As a 21 year old college student, I’ve experienced a variety of large scale and small scale changes. For example, the political climate in the U.S. is quite different now than when I was born. On a more personal scale, I left behind a small rural community at 18 and moved to a city with more diversity than I’d encountered in my entire life time. And on an even smaller scale, I’ve seen relationships with friends from home and friends I’ve made here evolve—some got stronger, and some have faded a little.

Yet in spite of all of this change in the world and my life, I have not shied away from the unknown. Sure, there have been moments where I was unsure about what was around the corner. But, if I’ve learned anything in my time at Ohio State, it is this: It is so important to embrace the chaos that change can be. I’ve embraced chaos as president of my sorority, where our organization’s membership has doubled in size in less than 2 years (and is still growing). I’ve embraced chaos after informing my parents (who have lived in my hometown all their lives) that I was considering attending graduate school in another state. And, with aspirations for a career in Extension, I’ve embraced the organized chaos surrounding its efforts to figure out where we will take the organization in the coming years. It’s been organized chaos, but chaos nonetheless.

Through these experiences, I’ve realized that change is a natural part of our lives. Instead of fearing change, I’ve realized how freeing it can be to embrace it. For example, if, while leading my sorority, I’d held tightly to the status quo for fear of change, we’d still be stuck with a variety of outdated policies and procedures.

A little faith can help too. A little faith in the notion that trying something new is worth the effort, even if the results don’t go exactly as we might have anticipated. Although my parents were initially shocked at my idea of moving away, they have begun to warm up to the idea and are now very supportive. Again, we need to “embrace the chaos,” no matter how hard it may seem in its early phases.

As you encounter change in your personal and professional life, I hope that you will resist the tendency to stick to the status quo and allow yourself to have faith it will all work out. Change doesn’t have to be scary—it can actually be very exciting. And for even more excitement, why not consider how you could help someone else embrace their own chaos?

Mariah Stollar is a Student Assistant for the State CD Office. She is a senior at The Ohio State University, majoring in community leadership.

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